At that price, concrete blocks can be competitive. I use plain blocks, and usually buy "seconds", but appearance isn't important to me. If you want pretty beds, you might be able to get some nice looking decorative blocks. A friend goes with me to the place where they are made and buys "seconds" of break front blocks. They are usually structurally sound and just don't quite match the color they were intended to be. He also covers the holes with capstones, which really increases the price, but you could use the holes for flowers!

Chuck

For a real cheapy, how about those rigid kid's wading pools? I've read in another forum about people using them. I had one for my large dogs to have their own "pool" and it lasted a couple of years. Think it cost about $7 at WM.

Used tires are a low cost way to construct raised beds, if you don't mind putting in a little labor.

You'll need an electric jigsaw and a few other common tools to cut the tires up and prep them.

Check out this site for instructions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Using Auto Tires for Raised Beds

Thank you for those suggestions. However, I need these beds to be attractive as well as functional. I guess what I'm looking for would be something premade, like a kit, with either 4x4 or 4x8 sides.

Why not have a friend help you build them from scratch? They arent hard to do, and you can make them to suit your preferences!!!!- cass

frdnicholas

I read the instructions for making the sides of raised beds with auto tires. Boy, that's a lot of work!

But the next suggestion is a lot easier because you don't have to prepare the bed side-material, which is plastic mesh. You buy it ready-made, though you still have to put it together. Step by step instructions are shown. The author of the article says the cost of the bed is half that of a bed built using lumber.

dirtydan

That's a great site for alternative materials to build raised beds!

Here is a link that might be useful: Plastic Mesh Beds

CAN CAN
We throw away a lot of soda and beer cans, here in Ga at least where there is no deposit or return laws.

So, if someone and his/her friends and relatives save their empty CANs, he/she CAN make a one-of-a-kind raised bed with them.
I would think 3 CANs high and 3 CANs wide will do. Here is how:

1- Make a level footing
2- pour some cement-sand mixture(mortar) on the footing.
3- place your empty cans on it, to make whatever shape you want.
4- Fill the cans with sand(play sand, or any fine sand used for dry brick laying).
5- pour some mortar on the top and place the second row on it
6- do the same for the third row.
7- If this is your last row, pour a thicker layer of mortar (about 2 inches) on it.

You are done. You will have a unique bed, showing your favorite beverages aluminum cans with assorted colors and names.
What you could do with just a little more expense is that instead of filling the cans with sand, add some cement+water to it, making a very thin mortar and fill the cans with it.
The cans do not need to be filled perfectly full. The purpose is to make them heavy.

By my rough estimate, for a 4'x4' bed. 3 cans wide, 3 cans high you will need about 1000 cans. And for a 4'x8' you will need 1500 cand. So, I will go for 4'x8'.
It you want to get the most bang for your cans, make it cirle bed. A circle wit 32 sqr. ft area(6.4 ft dia.) will have a perimeter of about 20 ft. (33% less cans needed).

This can can idea can be extended to make pots/containers of various shapes and sizes.

This idea can only be entertaained if someone plans for it.
Not this year, maybe next year can be realized.

Yes, CAN CAN (Grin!)

Why do you want to use 4x4 or 4x8? You could save considerable money by just using 2x4. However you might just want to put a stake every 4 feet on the inside of the bed to keep the sides from bulging. I think a 4x4 is overkill for a raised bed.

I assume by 4 X 4 and 4 X 8 he meant the dimensions of the bed (four feet by four feet etc) and not the size of the material.

Yes, I'm thinking 4x8 would be the size of the bed. I am trying to replace my wooden 8x8 frames that have warped over the last 3 years with something more functional here in the Southwest. The 8x8 is too big to get to plants in the middle of the bed. I am trying to make the beds also look more attractive. Anyone else have a website where these things are sold? I googled it and so far have only found sites where a 4x4 is around $100, which is more than I am able to pay.

Have you compared the prices on Mel's site?

www.squarefootgardening.com has 4x4-foot vinyl boxes for $84.99.

Try doing a search for "vinyl" garden beds instead of "plastic"

Here is a link that might be useful: GrafixMuse's Garden Spot

fdrnicholas

You just aren't going to find inexpensive plastic lumber anywhere. I, personally, don't think it's all that expensive to make even with recycled plastic, but I think the vendors all charge very high prices for it with the excuse that it "lasts a lifetime". And it probably does, as most plastic items do.

I do understand why you want to replace your wooden frames with something that will last longer in your climate, but if you want the plastic stuff, you're just going to have to lay out the money for it. It's hard to tell the final cost for the stuff from the internet because shipping is almost never shown until you're well into the order. You might check locally to compare prices.

If you can find a reasonable price for the lumber locally, there are metal corners that you can order to hold the frame together. See the link below. These appear to me to be the very simplest and easiest ones to use -- I don't think they even require nails or screws. The cost would be about $28 per bed for four of them (plus shipping) and then the cost of the lumber.

So, good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Stackable Corner Joints

What I did for my cheapo raised beds last year was this--I had access to many, many nursery pots that were 12" high and 12" in diameter. I lined these up into 4 x 8 beds, filled them with soil, lined the sides of my rectangles with landscape fabric and the bottom with cardboard, and dumped the dirt in. This was for 2 raised beds, and it worked famously, and my material costs were under 45.00. The added bonus was the ability to plant herbs in the nursery pots, and some peppers :D

This year, I had access to even more garden space, and went with cinderblocks. You can get these for nothing. I used freecycle and my stepdad as resources, but they are very inexpensive in HD and Lowes'.

You could get these corner brackets and then by the Trex or fake lumber or whatever they call it at Home Depot. Not sure how it would turn out on price, but thought I'd throw it out there.

I also think you could make them out of vinyl fencing parts. I believe someone on here posted beds they made that way a few years ago and they looked beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Charley's Greenhouse

Bear Board may work for you. It comes in various demenisons and colors. You would have to cut them to the length you want. They make 4x4 posts that you can use for the corner bracing too. I'm pretty sure they take small orders and ship UPS. Tom
www.epsplasticlumber.com - go to the Bear Board section

Those stackable corners are what I have on my raised beds. They are made of hard plastic and there is a hole to screw them onto wood. We used 2 x 6 rough cedar and had to sand the ends a bit to fit them into the slots (2 by 6 cedar turns out to be actually 2 1/4 or so). Very sturdy and they should last a long time, but they definitely weren't cheap.

I remember the pictures of those vinyl raised beds. They were quite pretty and would definitely last forever, but I don't recall if he ever gave detailed info about how they were put together.

jnfr

Ah, those stackable corners are sturdy plastic and have screw holes! I didn't read the description carefully.

Is the bottom stake long enough to hold the bed in place when they're driven in the ground? And did you have to put them every four feet along the sides (for, say, an 8 or 12 foot long bed)?

The stake holds well once you get it set in correctly. We did find it a little tricky to get the ground level all around - if the ground is higher on one side, the stakes pull up (then you knock those in and the other side pulls up, very silly). But once you get things level and in place, the box itself doesn't shift at all.

At least with the cedar we did not need any kind of extra side support. My boxes are six feet long, but the wood is sturdy enough that you could go 8 or 10 feet and I'm sure they would still hold. I'm not sure about Trex, though. That material is flexible enough that you might need some side support with it.

Well, I went online to gardeners.com and found a 2-tiered raised plastic bed for $144 with shipping. One level is 4x8 and the second level, which can be used separately is 4x4. The reviews from customers seemed good. Has anyone used this item? If so, what did you think of it? Thanks again for all your suggestions.